The term “object” is used herein to refer to a mechanical, electrical, or chemical component or any combination of such components. The term “engineered” as used herein refers to an object at least some aspect of which is specifically engineered to suit the requirements of a particular customer.
The present invention is of particular significance in the context of the design and manufacturing of bulk material handling systems such as the type typically used in a manufacturing environment to carry material from one location to another. The present invention will thus be described herein using the example of a system or method of designing and manufacturing an engineered object taking the form a bulk material handling system. However, the example presented herein is described for illustrative purposes only, and the present invention may take forms than the illustrative example described below.
A bulk material handling system typically requires the combination of mechanical and electrical components and material properties into an overall system that fits the particular working environment of a specific customer. Although many of the components used in a bulk material handling system are standardized, each particular design requires custom engineering. A bulk material handling system thus meets the definition of an engineered object as set forth above.
Conventionally, the design and manufacturing of a bulk material handling system involves the services of a salesman and an engineering department. The conventional process of designing and manufacturing a bulk material handling system may be described as follows.
Initially, the customer sends to the salesman a Request For Quotation (RFQ) containing the requirements of a proposed new bulk material handling system. The salesman works with the engineering department to generate a proposal based on the RFQ. The proposal contains engineering specifications defining the proposed new bulk material handling system and a quote of the price. The proposal typically may take up to several days to generate. The customer places an order when the proposal is accepted.
After the order is placed, the engineering department generates approval layout drawings based on the approved engineering specifications. The customer confirms that the approval layout drawings are accurate, and, if not, the approval layout drawings may be revised. The approval layout drawings are commonly produced based on finished job drawings for similar bulk material handling systems that have been hand-modified based on the specifications defined by the order.
Once the approval layout drawings are finalized, the engineering staff will generate detail manufacturing drawings and associated documents. From the detail manufacturing drawings, CNC-ready files are created for the cutting of sheet metal. The sheet metal and other components such as motors or the like are then combined with the sheet metal components based on the detail manufacturing drawings. The finished bulk material handling system is then installed at the customer's site.
The Applicant has identified at least the follow problems with conventional systems and methods for designing and manufacturing bulk material handling systems.
First, the step of generating the proposal requires the involvement of highly experienced engineering staff for at least several hours and often several days. The use of experienced engineering staff is expensive, and the fact that the proposal may take several days to prepare may place the manufacturer at a competitive disadvantage. Second, even with involvement of engineers for many hours, the preliminary specifications, without the approval drawings, do not include the detail drawings required for manufacture. The use of preliminary specifications to create the proposal creates the potential for costly design mistakes and inaccuracies in the quote. Third, the step of generating approval drawings can take several iterations over the period of one to two weeks. Fourth, the step of generating the detail manufacturing drawings based on prior finished job drawings for other projects often resulted in components that did not fit together or match the approval drawings.
The conventional process of designing and manufacturing a bulk material handling system is thus time consuming, requires significant highly technical labor simply to prepare a proposal, and is susceptible to design errors that are difficult and costly to fix. The need thus exists for improved systems and methods of designing and manufacturing engineered objects such as bulk material handling systems.